Battling Writer's Block

Writer's block is a battle that most, if not all writer's experience at some stage in their lives. It's the moment when you want to write, but you find yourself looking at nothing but a blinking cursor for hours.

As someone who has definitely battled with writer's block, I decided to share with you some of my tips for how I overcame it.

1. Reading books about writing

There are many books available about writing that contain some short writing exercises. It can take just one sentence to make all the difference and soon your mind will be attempting to connect the dots. One of the books that I would recommend is Ready, Set, Novel! by Chris Baty, Lindsey Grant and Travia Stewart-Streit.

Ready, Set, Novel! by Chris Baty, Lindsey Grant and Travia Stewart-Streit

You can buy the book at Waterstones, as well as other writing advice guides, or purchase it online: https://www.waterstones.com/product/ready-set-novel-a-noveling-jounal/tavia-stewart-streit/chris-baty/9781452101729

The book contains a range of exercises that focus mainly on the characters and world of the story. For example, one of the first exercises involves cutting up pieces of paper with words on them and writing a short story that contains said words. You'd be surprised with some of the crazy stories that you can come up with.

2. Online generators

If you find that you are stuck and haven't got the first idea on what exactly it is that you want to write about, then an online generator could be a starting point. For example, The Masterpiece generator website contains a plot generator: https://www.plot-generator.org.uk/story-ideas/ that could be helpful for picking the plot for your next story. The plot generator also gives the user the choice of how many story ideas they would like to look at.

The Masterpiece generator also contains a character name generator: https://www.name-generator.org.uk/character/ that will help the user think of a name for their character based on what they input into the boxes.

Another useful website is http://writingexercises.co.uk/index.php that contains a whole range of generators for your stories.

3. Creative Writing Prompts

If you need an idea to help you get started, as well as the generators, you can also look at writing prompts. A great website for browsing hundreds of writing prompts is Writer's Digest: https://www.writersdigest.com/prompts

As well as this website, the Instagram account @writing.prompt.s is an account dedicated to writing prompts to inspire its readers: https://www.instagram.com/writing.prompt.s/?hl=en

As well as the two resources that I have mentioned; there are lots of writing prompts all over the internet to give you some inspiration.

4. Listening to Music

This may sound odd at first, but the lyrics in a song usually tell a story. Even the title of songs can usually give people a rough idea of what the song is going to be about before they listen to it.

If you have a rough idea for what you want your story to be about but are unsure how to execute it, it might be useful to create a playlist of songs that you think summarise the theme of what you want to write about. For instance, when I was writing Dolly Daydream (2019), I created a playlist on Youtube with corresponding songs to fit in with the twisted tone of the narrative.

It is also useful to pay attention to music videos. For instance, when an artist announces that they're releasing a music video to a song that their audience is familiar with; this can sometimes cause the audience to start imagining what the music video will look like. However, often the music video is released and it may end up looking completely different from what somebody visualised. Although you could be disappointed or surprised by the outcome: your initial interpretation for the music video could be a starting point for your own story.

If you have no idea where to start with finding the right music, https://8tracks.com/ is a website that produces playlists based on keywords that the user types into the search bar.

5. Freewriting

Freewriting is a writing strategy developed by Peter Elbow in 1973, in which the writer continues to write for a certain amount of time; without paying attention to spelling and grammar. The first step is to try and clear your mind, without worrying about if what you are producing is going to be usable material or not. There is no need for self-criticism because there is no right or wrong with this exercise. It is all about going with the flow and writing about whatever comes to mind.

The next step is to not stop writing until the amount of time that you have set for yourself has stopped. However, while you are writing, don't stop for long periods of time and don't get rid of anything. Freewriting allows you to write down your thoughts and feelings without any judgement. After the timer has ended, take a look at what you have written and see if anything stands out, perhaps something that you could use as an idea or concept for your next project. You could even further explore certain ideas and make a note of which ideas to keep.

Here is an example of my own Freewriting regarding one of my favourite characters:

6. Be inspired by reality

They say that the best stories come from real events and there are many films or television shows that are based on real-life stories today. For example, the popular television show Stranger Things (2016-present) created by The Duffer Brothers is based on some real conspiracy theories about the United States government conducting reality-bending experiments on children.

You could start by asking yourself these three basic questions:

Is there a particular person that I know/have heard of that I think would make a great character?
Is there a certain place that I think would make an interesting setting?
Is there a situation/event that has happened that could be entertaining for an audience to read/watch?

You could even draw some inspiration from the most unexpected places and at the most unexpected times, so once you think of an idea try to write it down as soon as you can...I remember that I once looked at the colours of a teacup at a cafe and this helped me to come up with a design for my character.

If you can't think of anything in your life that you think would make a captivating story, then the news is always a useful source for finding one. For example, a google search for police crime blotters can be full of fascinating and potentially unique scenarios. This light-hearted video discussing the Mercury News Crime Blotter explores a range of different stories:

7. Keep a dream journal

Dreams can awaken some of your most creative and chaotic thoughts. Dreams are essentially stories and images that the mind creates whilst in a state of consciousness characterised by sensory, cognitive and emotional occurrences during sleep. When you wake up it is normal to forget the majority of your dream, but even if you remember one part of it - no matter how weird - you should write it down before you forget it.

If we think of dreams like homemade movies, then our mind is essentially generating lots of potential writing material. You could turn a notebook into a dream journal or download a dream journal app. Make sure to write in it as soon as you wake up because you have a higher chance of remembering the dream compared to writing in it later on in the day.

8. Have a shower

Okay, I know this sounds weird. However, many people tend to get their best ideas while they are in the shower or doing other mundane tasks - instead of focusing on writing.

According to Time.com's interview with Washington University psychologist R. Keith Sawyer: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1147152,00.html there is a psychological reason behind this:

In creativity research, we refer to the three Bs—for the bathtub, the bed and the bus—places where ideas have famously and suddenly emerged. When we take time off from working on a problem, we change what we're doing and our context, and that can activate different areas of our brain. If the answer wasn't in the part of the brain we were using, it might be in another. If we're lucky, in the next context we may hear or see something that relates—distantly—to the problem that we had temporarily put aside.

When Sawyer was asked if he could give an example of a problem that was solved by using another part of the brain, he had this to say:

In 1990 a team of NASA scientists was trying to fix the distorted lenses in the Hubble telescope, which was already in orbit. An expert in optics suggested that tiny inversely distorted mirrors could correct the images, but nobody could figure out how to fit them into the hard-to-reach space inside. Then engineer Jim Crocker, taking a shower in a German hotel, noticed the European-style showerhead mounted on adjustable rods. He realized the Hubble's little mirrors could be extended into the telescope by mounting them on similar folding arms. And this flash was the key to fixing the problem.

I can't even begin to count the number of times that I have thought of a solution to an issue I was having in my story while I have been in the shower.

9. Travel to new places

By that, I don't mean jet off to Japan, unless you can afford that. You don't necessarily have to go on holiday to do this, but sometimes being in a new environment can affect the thoughts that you have. You could even explore somewhere in your hometown that you haven't been to yet, it does not have to be anywhere spectacular. Write down how you would describe this place (both positive and negative), the people and your thoughts and feelings.

This could be the perfect setting for your next story.

10. Practice self-care

This might sound basic, but it is arguably the most important point on this list. It is easy for a writer to become annoyed at themselves when they can't think of anything to write, but it is important to be kind to yourself so that you can put one hundred per cent of your energy into your writing.

It is also important to remember that writer's block does not come from a lack of talent and it can happen to the most talented writers. While you can't stay in a battle with writer's block forever, it's also about knowing when to take a break and allowing yourself to accept the break. After all, a creative burn-out is not healthy either.